Guard rail clamp



E. c. ZIMMERMAN.

GUARD RAIL CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, I918 Patented J nne 17 1919.

2 SHEETS- SHEET I.

Swan/whoa E. C. ZIMMERMAN.

GUARD RML CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, 191B.

1 ,306,988. Patented June 17, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

/' I 3W L'nml aztmmerman W W%m UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE;-

EMIL CARL ZIMMEBMAN, OIF-NEW YORK, N; Y-., ASSIGNOR TO Q & 0 COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

GUARD-RAIL CLAMP.

Specification 0! Letters Patent.

Batented June 1'7, 1919.-

Application filed March 4, 1918. Seria1No.22 O, 1 18.

new and usefnl- Improvements in Guard- Rail Clamps, ofwhich,t h e following is a specificatioti;

This invention relates to, improvements in guardrail clamps and consists ofa novel arrangement; and construction ,of the arts thereof designed particulzizrlyto permit of their bein readily and securely placed. in position 0 use and adaptedgto be retained in effective position independent of the scouring means. The cleviee of my invention is furthermore designed to possessother features of advantage over the clamps as heretofore made and to be offverysubstam tialconstruction so as successfully toresist the thrusts and; oundingfmfheauy traiiic without danger 0 idisplacement fromitseffective position,

i To this end, valuable features of my present invention consist in the arrangement and correlation of the.part s whereby when assemblediinposition they will be self sustained in effective osition with the yoke member thereof properly supported to resist the strains irrespective o whether the clamp is fully tightened: up or not, This arrangement not only maintains the effectiveness. of the clamp but materially contributes to,the simpl city of. the tightening operation for it is not necessary to manually support" the yoke member during the tightening operation. A further important feature thereof consists of animproved and simplified means for securing the parts in position.

The described and other features and advantages of my present invention are shown in the accompanying drawin 's wherein like reference characters are appl ed to thecorresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a perspective view showin a desirable embodiment of my invention ilustrating its use in clamping the guard rail in position. Fig Q is a vprtiat 1833 Marmion avenue, in the county of ew York andState of New York, have invented calsectional view thereof and Fig. 3.is a plan view thereof with the rails omit-ted. Fi 4is a vertical-sectional view of a, suitable' modified'fqrm thereof and Fig. 5.is a

plan'view thereof,

Referring to the pfeferred embodiment of my invention as ilustrated herein the numeral 1 designates the usual track rail to which the guardrail 2 is attached "by means of the clamping yoke ember 3. To co-act with the yoke in. the c amping of the rail and'to space the respective rails from each other the proper distances a suitable spacer or filler block 4-& is provided to be interposed between the rails. As shown this spacer block is composed of thet vo parts 4 and 5 wl ich are separated in a vertical plane on a ia,%onal 1ine. The adjacent and contacting sur th block are desirably formed Witli'YeI'tic zcorrugations or ribsG and grooves 7 adaptedito register so as to prevent relative longitudinal-movement and to permit of the parts 4 and 5 bein assembled toadjust the width of the B100 r for differently spacing the rails Means are also provided to maintain the block members 4 and 5 against vertical displacement which here consists of an outwardly extending.longitudinal rib 8 .form ed on the block member; 4 and extending the entire len th thereof and ar- 'rangedtoiregister and m within a complemental groove 9 formed on the opposite member 5. As illustratedjthe member 4 is so formed that it bear-sever a substantial area upon the upper surface of the rail flange. and also engages with the rail on the under sideof the head and similarly the member 5 enga es with the track rail at widely separated points thereby contributing to the. rigidity of the arrangement. The. member 4 is also considerably longer than the member 5 to provide a rplatively large range of adjustment for spacing of the rails.

An import ant feature of my present invention consists in.t 11c means employed for (o-acting with the. yoke} to clamp the guard raitin position. This is aecomp ished aces of the parts fgrming.

without attaching of the yoke to either of the rails and consists of a wedge member of longitudinally tapering form adapted to be interposed between one end of the yoke 3 and one of the rails. In the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, similarly positioned between the opposite end of the yoke and the other of the rails, a spacer block or shoe 11 is arranged. This shoe 11 is formed as shown to bear upon the under side of the rail head and upon the rail base and is also provided with a socket 12 adapted to receive the tapered nose portion 13 of the yoke whereby the. shoe 11 is held from longitudinal displacement.

As shown the tapered outer surface 15 of the wedge 10 bears against a. flat vertical bearing surface on the inner end of the yoke 3 and the wed is also formed to bear upon the under si e of the rail head as shown and upon the upper surface of the rail base.

A valuable feature of my structure consists in providin proper vertical :1 inement of the; oke so that it 'is notpermitted to drop. own at either end upon loosening of the Wed c. This is accomplished by providing t e wedge member 10 with an extended bearing fla e or led e 18 arranged as shown to under ie' the an of the yoke and provide a support therefor. Sim larly the spacer block orshoe' 11 is providedwith anextending flange.-l9 underlying the opposite end of the 'yoke. As will be readil understood by so providing upon asse n ling of the parts reparatory to tightening the clamp, the yo e will be properly positioned and the clampingis effected by driving in of the wedge. This operation is thus simplified over types heretofore used wherein it has been necessary to hold the yoke in proper position during the tightening.

As indicated best in Fig. 3 the ledge portion 18 of the wedge is provided with a longitudinally arranged series of apertures 21 adapted to receive a securing cotter pin 20 when the wedge has been tightened. This provides a simple and reliable securing means for retaining the parts in position.

The arrangement as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, by reason of the employment of the spacer shoe 11, permits of the parts being assembled without removing the guard rail and also permits of employing the same yoke members with wedge blocks and spacer shoes of varying sizes adapted for difl'erent rail sections.

\Vhile I have shown in Figs. 1 to 3 a preferred embodiment of my invention it will be understood that many modifications thereof can be made without departin from the scope thereof. For instance, in *igs. t

' and 5 I have shown a modified form wheremeans to maintain the in the spacing shoes are dispensed with and the yoke at one end is extended inwardly and is formed at its end 22 to have direct bearing engagement with the rail. In this modified form the spacer block 4-5 is formed with the corrugations 6 formed on the edge surface of the rib portion 8 whereby the latter operates to secure the block against both vertical and longitudinal displacement.

At 23, downwardly extending lugs are shown formed on one of the spacer block members and arranged to engage with the yoke on each side thereof so that the spacer block is secured against longitudinal movement.

Having described my invention I claim,

1. A rail clamp comprising a clamp bar or yoke member having inwardly directed end portions, a wedge member formed with a rail engaging portion and an inclined wedging surface ada ted to be interposed between one end of t e yoke and the rail, said wedge member being formed at its base with a ledge flan e outwardly extending to underlie the end portion of the yoke member and provide a bearing therefor and said led e bein providedwith a series of longitudinally, ispos'ed apertures and shiftable securin means adapted to be positioned in sai apertures and to engage with the yoke memberat points both above and below the base of the rail. g y

2. The combination of a track rail and a guard rail, of a rail clamp comprising a clampbar or yoke having upturned and in- .wardly idirected fend portions, .a wedge formed with a rail en agin portionand an inclined wedging 'sur ace a apted to be interposed betweenone end portion of the yoke and a rail, a bearing shoe member formed with a rail engaging art and adapted to be interposed between the opposite end portion of the yoke and a second rail and an adjustable spacer block adapted to be interposed between the rails, said wedge being formed at its base portion with a flange extension arranged to underlie the end portion of the yoke and formed with a series of apertures arranged longitudinally there of and a shiftable cotter pin fitted to one of the apertures to en age the yoke membcrl both above and be ow the base of the nu 3. A rail clamp comprising a clamp yoke member having upturned inwardly directed end portions forming a space or slot be tween said end portions and the lower body portion of the yoke member, a wedge mem ber formed with a rail engaging portion and an inclined wedging surface and adapted to be interposed between one end of the yoke and a rail. said wedge member being formed at its base portion with an outwardly extending fla e or ledge adapted to be received within tifie groove formed by the oke member and to underlie the end inwardly directed end portion of the yoke portion thereof, said ledge being provided to prevent displacement of the wedge, subwith a series of longitudinally arrange-d stantially as described.

apertures, shiftable securing means adapted In testimony whereof I have signed my 10 5 to be positioned in said apertures and to enname to this specification.

gage with both tho? body portion and the EMIL CARL ZIMMERMAN.

(topics of this patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patentr Washington, D. C." 

